Frampton Co is leaning into the “off season” on Long Island with a winter show at Exhibition The Barn in Bridgehampton, New York. Curated by Elena Frampton, Principal at Frampton Co, the art and design on view represents a vast array of mediums, with a selection curated in partnership with Manhattan-based gallery Friedman Benda.

“This is our first-ever winter show at Exhibition The Barn,” says Elena. "It reflects how our sense of place has changed this past year. I sought warmth, and to create a vibrant contrast to what we’ve all been through. While this chilly time may be considered ‘off-season,’ we created this show for our Hamptons-based clients and visitors, and those from the city seeking an inspirational refuge. Through our curation, we are relishing in the contradictions of this moment.”

Working within this concept of warmth and contradiction, Elena has curated photographs by emerging and established artists that bring bursts of color and formal idiosyncrasy into the environment. Jesse Frohman’s large-scale print, Yellow Flowers, Joshua Tree is stationed as a focal point in Frampton’s latest environment, immediately drawing the viewer’s eye with a detailed composition of washed out desert land punctuated by the intensity of yellow flowers. “I’ve collaborated with Elena on several projects,” says Frohman. “She has a sophisticated sense of how to use vibrant color, and it’s never a wasted opportunity.”

“We’re thrilled to showcase this roster of photographers this winter,” says Elena. “We’ve carefully selected works by Jesse Frohman, Craig McDean, and Joshua Olley, whom I have been following for some time. I’m drawn to his work instinctually. Moody and potentially dark, the work takes you to a contemplative space. It offers a deliberate counterpoint to the vivid warmth of the rest of the exhibit.” 

Works on view by Jesse Olley are highly personal, centering on themes of time, place, and liminal states. Marguerite’s Living Room documents the Palouse Prairie homestead of the artists’ extended family, who have been farming wheat on the same land since the late 19th century, while Suppa’s Farm is an exploration of transitory space. “What's it like to experience life in limbo, knowing it’s limited?” asks Olley. “Suppa’s Farm was created to process and understandmy dad’s journey from diagnosis to an untimely death, a journey that was brutal and painfulbut simultaneously held room for peace.”

The larger scene at The Barn is wrapped within a custom marigold curtain, enveloping the 25-ft high-ceilinged former industrial garage, a volumetric color study that doubles as a metaphoric warm embrace. Working within a hot color schema, Elena partnered with Friedman Benda, inviting in the explosive Sushi IV chair by Estudio Campana, alongside their fantastical Banquete Dolphins in Leather chair composed of stuffed leather dolphins, and an oversized, textured
black lounger by Marcel Wanders.

An omnipresence of curvilinear shapes complements the winding curtains, and abounds in a selection of one-of-a-kind ceramics, Benda-sourced seating options, and most strikingly in the dancerly, modernist circular area rug from Doris Leslie Blau, in honor of the showroom’s namesake industry titan. Also throughout are pieces from F Collection with a new look reflective of the flexibility of all Frampton Co’s design endeavors. These original designs are placed throughout the gallery, featuring a refreshed look of the Relaxed Tuxedo Sofa, 14’, in a daring bird and floral patterned linen and trimmed with an unexpected leather fringe, among more F Collection.

To complete the space, Elena called in Hamptons-based floral artist Arthur Golabek to construct a custom “chandelier” of violet flora, adding one last joyful punch of color to her inspired vision for living in a moment full of contrast and complexity.

The Winter Show is on view at Exhibition The Barn through April. Schedule your private in-person or virtual viewing: exhibition@framptonco.com, (212) 448-1091